Investor Carl Icahn sells 12.7 million Yahoo shares

Dan Nystedt |
Sept. 1, 2009

He sold shares at US$14.85 per share, far less than the $25 each he paid in hopes of a Microsoft-Yahoo merger

TAIPEI, 1 SEPTEMBER 2009 - Carl Icahn, an investor who made waves last year for pushing Yahoo to accept Microsoft's merger bid, has sold 12.7 million shares of Yahoo stock in recent days, according to regulatory filings on Monday.

Icahn sold the shares for an average of US$14.85 each, according to filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, far below the price he picked up the majority of his stake in Yahoo. The investor purchased around 69 million shares of Yahoo last year for $25 each in a push to make the company accept Microsoft's $31 per share merger offer. He also bought 6.8 million shares of Yahoo last November when U.S. stock markets were falling amid economic uncertainty, for $9.93 per share.

A Microsoft-Yahoo merger never took place. Talks collapsed over several disagreements. Instead, Microsoft signed a deal with Yahoo in July to partner on Internet search. Microsoft's Bing search engine will power Yahoo's search site and Yahoo will sell search advertising for both companies.

Icahn offered no reason for the sale in the SEC filings nor on his blog.

Icahn had to report the sale because he is a director at Yahoo. His stake in Yahoo fell to 62.87 million shares.